Town, union fighting over cats and dogs

From The Cape Cod Times, March 17

BOURNE, MA – The town and members of its firefighter's union will have to wait nine more months to settle a veterinary clinic debate that has been raging since the fall.

The Bourne Professional Firefighters Union filed a complaint with the state Labor Relations Commission last week against the town, alleging that a weekly veterinary clinic operating out of the Sagamore Beach fire and rescue station is negatively affecting working conditions there.

Bourne Town Counsel Robert Troy of Sandwich said it was decided yesterday that a hearing on the subject won't be held until December.

The free and reduced-price weekly clinic run by the nonprofit Friends of the Plymouth Pound has faced scrutiny from the union since its September opening.

The clinic opening has changed working conditions at the station, and the town has not negotiated with the union to make them better, said Gil Taylor, a union spokesman. He mentioned issues with allergies in particular.

But some firefighters also reported that pet owners looking for the clinic became angry when they arrived at the wrong entrance and were told they couldn't cut through the station for security reasons.

A lot of the complaints "seem minor," Taylor said, "but when it happens five, six, seven times a day?"

In February, the Labor Relations Commission conducted an in-person investigation at the site. They found that the union had enough evidence to file a complaint.

The town disagrees, and Troy said the station was originally built as a dual-purpose building to allow other community activities.

"Fire is just one of the uses of a hybrid facility," Troy said. And, he added, the clinic's limited weekly hours make it "hard for me to imagine that it really impacts working conditions."

Complaints about the clinic cropped up from the beginning, said Taylor, including issues with allergies made worse by animals visiting the clinic.

However, the vet practice violates no state or town health laws, said Town Health Agent Cindy Coffin, who accompanied members of the labor commission on their visit to the clinic in February.

The clinic has neutered 43 cats since its opening, many of them feral animals and strays, said Friends of the Plymouth Pound founder Gayle Fitzpatrick.

The clinic will continue to operate out of the station, said Troy, though the town is looking for a location within the building with a separate entrance to reduce interaction between firefighters and customers.

Taylor said the union hopes to reconcile the issue quickly. "The people in the clinic, we interact fine with," Taylor said. "Unfortunately, they were thrown into a situation that was less than ideal the way it came out."